Automated banking machines are well known. A common type of automated banking machine used by customers is an automated teller machine (hereinafter “ATM”). ATMs enable customers to carry out banking transactions such as the dispensing of cash, the transfer of funds between accounts, the payment of bills, and/or account balance inquiries. Automated banking machines may also print or dispense items of value such as coupons, tickets, wagering slips, vouchers, checks, food stamps, money orders, and traveler's checks.
The types of banking transactions a customer can carry out at an ATM are determined, in part, by the capabilities and design of the particular banking machine, the capabilities and design of the host banking system with which the ATM interfaces, and the programming of the institution operating the machine. For purposes of this disclosure, references to an ATM, an automated banking machine, or an automated transaction machine are interchangeable.
One of the most common transactions performed by a customer at an ATM is the withdrawal of cash from a bank account. In such a transaction, a customer interfaces with an ATM by identifying himself, identifying the account from which the money is to be withdrawn, and identifying the desired amount of money to be withdrawn. The ATM interfaces with a host banking system to determine if the customer is authorized to dispense cash from the account and has sufficient funds in the account for the desired withdrawal.
While the withdrawal of cash from a bank account through an ATM may satisfy the customer's short term financial needs, it can also create financial problems. For example, if the bank account is a checking account and if the customer has recently written checks drawn from that account which have not yet been posted (i.e., cleared), or if the customer has authorized certain creditors to automatically withdraw periodic payments from that account, the withdrawal of available funds from an ATM can result in checks and/or automatic payments being refused at some later point in time by the bank due to the account having insufficient funds to cover those withdrawals.
Consequently, there exists a need for a system and method which minimizes the risk of checks and/or automatic payments being refused as a result of a customer withdrawing too much cash from an account associated with the checks and/or automatic payments.